. Today was another trip up to Boston for a certain office meeting; for the life of me I don't know why this couldn't have been done over the phone (most of it didn't concern me or my work anyway) but i guess they figured since we agreed I'd be up there on a quarterly basis that I may as well go up.
I planned to be up there by 10 a.m. I THOUGHT I set my alarm clock for 6 a.m., when I was actually awake, but it didn't go off and in my half-awake state I looked at the clock and said to myself, you still have 20 minutes til you have to get up. Thinking I was getting up at my usual time, 6:30 a.m.
I had the hardest time falling asleep last night and felt like I was mostly awake all night. This nearly always happens when I have a big trip like this.
Anyway, I got a late start and hit traffic first in Waterbury, then in the Hartford area, and of course as I approached the Boston area.
I brought in some chocolates for everyone in my team (6 people) and some friends I made when I reported to a different area. I left some cute chocolate tulips and a book on Alzheimers caregivers for one of my other friends there whose mother has the disease. I was given this book by the Alzheimers Assn and I figure I don't need it anymore so instead of donating to the library book drive, I gave it to her, though she was out sick today and will find it tomorrow if she comes in. 
I actually had 4 meetings today stretching from 11 a.m. through 2:30 pm. I had just about a half hour before the last meeting so I ran over to Whole Foods for lunch, and by the time I got thru the line, i had barely enough time to wolf down the food in my car, just to have some privacy. This was the only time I got to spend in the beautiful 70 degree weather.
I have to say I feel very much out of my element when I go up there, and mainly due to the minimal face time, I don't feel I've "bonded" with them. I don't feel I know them very well. Of the 6, it's the contractor who has seemed the friendliest to me.
I was able to leave around 3:30 pm. I guess my new boss took pity on me after I described the odyssey which is this car ride and how exhausting it is. It occurred to me on the ride up that I should really update my will as I want it to be, in case I get in an accident on one of these trips.My normal commute and the rest of my routine seems pretty tame, but this 3-hour trip up there always involves crazy drivers on your bumpers, people who weave in and out of lanes unexpectedly and all the other stuff you'd expect when there's more traffic than the roads can handle.
It was much nicer being able to drive in the daylight, but then sun glare was an issue and there were cops pulling over motorists all along the way.
But I am so wiped, as I knew I would be.
I think all the time about quitting or walking away from this job, but it would be rather foolish since the pay is pretty good, I get to work work 2 days home each week and I only have a few more years to go. But I am so not into this job, and these feelings really started after my mother died, which was about the same time when they told me I'd be working with a new team and a new boss and doing about 30% more work than I had been.
Tomorrow is a work at home day although I do have a 10 a.m. gyno appointment and after this year, she is retiring. It will be a big yuck factor finding a new (preferably female) gynecologist after so many years with this one.
I managed to sell a few more yarns and I have 6 yarn cones to pack up tonight, but I'm so pooped I may just leave this for tomorrow and ship it next day.
This means I can make 6 more "Xs" in my 2016 declutter grid. It's a simple chart but I find it works, in that I am using it. The 2016 grid has 2016 little boxes, organized by month. Each time you declutter...either by trashing, recycling, gifting or selling...you mark an X in one of the boxes. That's it! I started doing this in February, I think, so I am behind on my Xs but when I sell 6 yarn cones as just mentioned, I can play catch up with the grid.
It's a helpful reminder that yes, I HAVE been decluttering over time, albeit slowly.
Thank goodness that's over with for another 3 months
March 10th, 2016 at 12:32 am
March 10th, 2016 at 12:41 am 1457570503
March 10th, 2016 at 03:39 am 1457581195
March 10th, 2016 at 10:55 am 1457607317
March 10th, 2016 at 11:47 am 1457610437
March 10th, 2016 at 12:58 pm 1457614684
March 10th, 2016 at 07:09 pm 1457636959
March 11th, 2016 at 01:52 am 1457661139
Keep in mind that your feelings about the job may change over time. One finding of the past decade is that people are actually quite bad at "affective forecasting," that is, at predicting their own future feelings. When you compare how people predicte they would feel after an event with how they actually DID feel, feelings often change...but our memories/perceptions change too, so we don't REALIZE that our feelings don't match what we expected. So take heart, you may end up finding the next few years more enjoyable than you currently expect.